Balance: A Star Wars Story
by loverlache
Summary: Set three months after the end of The Last Jedi. Kylo Ren's internal struggle comes to a head, with the help of his nemisis Hux, as the Resistance builds up its forces. Some Reylo angst, well why not.
1. Rey

The wind howled through the cave walls, sneaking wet, icy fingers across Rey's face as she slumbered fitfully in her bunk. Around her, her fellow resistance unit also slept, their bodies dappled with moonlight. Outside, guards paced, looking up at the small unit of fighters closely gliding in to land. They pulled up their collars against the rain.

Further still, a light gleamed from the base camp operations hut, similarly hewn from bare rock but just a few months ago to create this ramshackle place her people now called home.

Rey moved restlessly in her cot, her lips moving wordlessly as her dreams engulfed her. She could see stars….but nothing familiar. A strange starscape, and moving silently through it, a familiar transporter. Small, compact - Leia's.

But almost as she felt a wave of relief and warmth at the glimpse of her great leader's small ship, she was suddenly struck by a voice, calling to her as if from another dream, another time.

"Rey. It's coming." It was Leia's voice. Urgent. Commanding. Rey's hand lashed out in sleep, grasping her blanket as if to steady herself. "I was wrong," Leia's low voice continued, and with her words Rey saw her beautiful, calm, regal face. "There _is_ hope."

 _"Save him."_

In a flash, it was gone. And then, reverberating inside her head, she heard a strange raw keening, a great cry of rage and pain. But the cry was not her own. It was his.

Ben's.

Rey sat up with a start. She reached for the lamp next to her bed, and flicked it on. She looked up to the bunkhouse door, just in time to see Finn's silhouette appear at the door. He pulled his helmet from his head as their eyes met through the gloom.

"Rey." he said, tonelessly as he looked at her pale, damp face. "She's dead." How lips trembled with the effort. "Leia's dead."


	2. Kylo Ren

A world away, lying listlessly in his own bunk, laid the bulk of the New Order's new Supreme Leader. His raven hair tumbled across his sheets and the shoulders of the female body laying beside him. Slowly, he pulled his body up to sit, and reached his legs out to the hard floor.

His entry door buzzed, then hissed ajar. He heard sharp heels cracking into his rooms, towards his chamber. Momentarily, he heard a shrill voice. "Master. We have news of the Resistance reconnoitre."

Kylo Ren raised himself from his bed, reaching for his shirt as he moved towards the chamber's curtains. Wordlessly, he pulled the heavy fabric curtain apart, and gestured for Hux to enter.

Hux did so, swiftly, but not without taking care to hide the curl of his lip. He surveyed the disorder of the Knight's inner rooms. With disgust, he watched the woman quickly rise, pick up her uniform and pad silently away.

Kylo Ren moved slowly towards his window, padding softly, his shoulders pushed back like a wounded cat. He looked out upon the blackness of the stars. He felt a familiar weight on his chest. "I already know." he said, almost breathing out the words.

Then, his head snapped suddenly to face Hux, revealing a thinner, paler face, etched with scars and the hints of blackening veins around his temples. " _But_ d _id I not tell you to watch. And wait?_ "

Hux felt a cold shiver pass up his spine as Kylo's coral eyes settled on his own.

"Yes, Master," he stammered. "But we couldn't pass up the opportunity to kill their greatest General. The impact will be _huge_." Even though his fear, Hux could barely conceal a glimmer of triumph in his eyes. His spies has found her, reported on her, delivered her to him on her way to discuss strategy with her allies. The Princess could never resist the personal touch.

"Hm," murmured Kylo. Then slowly, he raised his hand, and lifted Hux from his feet, leaving him grasping at his throat in a now familiar pose.

"Master…." spluttered Hux, "I made a choice…."

"When I told you to WATCH. And WAIT," roared Kylo, spinning on his heels as he pushed Hux through the air, punching him into the wall alongside his bed. Hux made a wheezing sound as his lungs expelled. "The impact? The impact will be _pointless_. It will just be the same. The same dance, the same circle. _Don't you understand?!"_

Kylo stormed to where his General still hung, mid air. He pressed his face closer to Hux's own, his black hair whipping back like tendrils, and hissed. "A new order will _never_ come from constant rebirth of the old. I don't want this. I don't _want_ this."

Kylo then turned, and sank back to sit on his bed. The rage subsiding, his eyes widened, and his shoulders drooped. Hux recognised the same pattern in the Knight, the circle of rage and despair, as he slowly slid back down onto his feet. For now, he was safe.

"I take full responsibility, Master. It was my mistake," murmured Hux, rubbing his neck. His eyes however glowed. "But forgive me. You're still not yourself. You need more rest. I'll return later." He turned on his heels and started to walk from the room.

"Wait." Kylo's voice returned to its low, threatening tone. Hux stopped. "What news…. Of the girl?"

Hux's eyes narrowed."She wasn't onboard. Still no sightings, and no reports of their resistance base. Yet."

Kylo just sat, and breathed. "She's getting stronger. I can feel it." His voice was flat.

"She is but one, and one can be defeated," replied Hux, his eyes like flints.


	3. General Hux

"You called for me, General."

Phasma's silvery helmet shone like a new pin as she stepped into General Hux's quarters. Her old suit, long since burnt and crumpled from her fall into the flames, had been replaced with new. Granted, this time she needed the armour to protect her raw, flayed skin from the elements. The rogue Stormtrooper was never far from her mind.

"Phasma, excellent," replied Hux, leaning over his desk, his red hair gleaming in the low light. He looked at her, his eyes full of portent. "How goes it?"

"His whore says he woke weeping, like a child. He moves towards the edge," she replied. "Your plan goes well, it appears."

"The piece de resistance was killing the mother," replied Hux, his thin white face glowing with a hideous pride. "It was Snoke who first noticed it. Death... injures him. And his own people so much _more_ so. Its another sign of his _pathetic weakness._ " He spat out the words.

Phasma recoiled slightly as she saw the treachery shine in his wintry face. But she was a soldier, and Hux's soldier. This was the job.

The General continued, "He seems to be under the impression that some form of balance needs to be struck between the light and dark. But its the ramblings of a broken fool. There is no balance. It is our way, or their way, or the battle in between."

Hux looked up at her, and saw his face reflected back. He liked what he saw.

Supreme Leader. _Emperor?_ A moment passed.

"And what about the others? How goes things with the Knights?" he continued.

Phasma shifted uneasily on her feet. "They listen. They are aware of his.. situation. But they grew up with him. Its not...loyalty, but rather an unwillingness to follow anyone without the..."

" _Force,_ " hissed Hux. Phasma nodded.

"But I think with each day, they recognise the truth," she continued, quickly.

"He's low, but still dangerous," replied Hux, moving now from his desk to his large window. He gazed out upon the flank of the Destroyer, looking out across at the opposite quarter sector, where his great nemesis no doubt still lay, brooding. He removed his black gloves, and ran a spidery finger across his brow.

"If I can isolate him, then it will be easy to flick the switch. Every Empire eventually has a mad king. Its just a question of time before he tears himself apart."

Phasma moved to go, but hesitated. "The whore also says... he often speaks in his sleep. About the girl."

Hux turned to her, his eyes narrowing. "What does he say...?" He moved towards Phasma now.

"Just her name. She says its like he is ...calling her," replied the silver soldier.

"Well tell her to listen for the details. He claims she killed Snoke. I don't believe it. It was something else..."

"I'll report back tomorrow, sir." she replied, and strode off across the threshold. Hux watched her go, and turned his eyes back across to Kylo's quarters. He smiled as he watched a tall, dark figure appear, and then pace back and forth, back and forth...


	4. Rey's Decision

Rey flicked through the Jedi tomes and sighed. She felt out of her depth. Here in her hands she held the combined wisdom of hundreds of years of Jedi wisdom, but somehow the words didn't resonate. _Am I really a Jedi_? She asked herself. She pushed the books aside, shifted uncomfortably on the rock she had placed herself on, and looked out across the valley. Above her a blue sky glowed with three lilac suns.

Her eyes moved across the hive of activity below, seeking out her friends. She spotted Finn, busily working on his fighter with Rose. Together, they were upgrading and rebuilding what was left of their fleet, utilising their combined knowledge of New Order and Resistance tech to give their soldiers the best fighting chance when the time came. She watched them work effortlessly together, laughing. _Something happening there,_ she mused, with affection.

And then, further in the distance, was her General, Poe, strategising and planning their every next move. Poe looked handsome, dashing - but also older, wiser. She admired them all. Their drive, their fight, their purpose.

 _But what is my purpose_?, she asked herself. In theory, she knew. To rebuild the Jedi. To create a new temple, a school. Already the Resistance were collecting young hopefuls from around the galaxy, smuggling them in as they revealed strong connections to the Force. There were already 20, already getting settled into their new quarters, and excitedly stitching their own padawan costumes. But somehow, it felt fake.

 _I can't do this_ , she thought. _I am only learning now myself. How can I even begin to teach others_?

As if to check in on herself, she raised an arm and pushed her mind towards a boulder in the near distance. She felt its weight lift, but as it did so, she felt resistance. The boulder vibrated, unsteadily. The resistance was not in the Force, but herself. A blockage.

She closed her eyes, and looked inside. She reached out again to the rawness of the disappointment, the sadness she felt. She had been so certain he would turn. She had seen it so clearly when she had felt the steady warmth of his fingers on hers. When she had looked into his wide, vulnerable eyes. What had she misread? Why had he still struggled? _Couldn't he see what she could see?_

"It will pass," she said out loud, more to comfort herself than because she yet believed it. She pushed the pain aside, and tried again to focus on compassion.

This is what she knew.

Ben had been the victim of mistakes. Mistakes of the Light. His parents had left him in Luke's hands, when he needed a parents presence, love and guidance, not the structures of the Jedi religion. His uncle had then reacted in fear to his ward's own uncertainty of himself, the expectations placed upon him, and his loneliness. This together had set the path to Kylo Ren. It started, as it always did, in childhood. The Light had failed Ben. He had power, but this was useless without a strong sense of love and trust. Snoke had recognised the vacuum within him, and replaced that need for love with the promise of respect, trust, and power.

Vader had been the same. From what Luke had told her, he had turned to the dark side as his true needs had been actively denied. He had loved Padme. Without her presence, he was but a single tree. How could he ever help to build a forest?

 _This is all wrong,_ she said to herself, looking down at the fragile pages laid out below her. _We should have burnt these things. I'm just repeating everything which has come before._

"These children need parenting, and love," she said, out loud. _They may also need the Force, but it isn't something to venerate above a simple need to belong_. She closed the books with a slam. Things were going to be different.


	5. Hux's Coup

Kylo pulled his cloak around his shoulders and looked into the mirror. His uniform was, as ever, pristine. But his eyes said something different. He felt the familiar dull grip in his chest, his throat. _Would this pain ever end?_

 _"_ What is happening to me?" he asked himself out loud, for the hundredth time. He looked every part the Supreme Leader, with his fragile, white skin, red eyes and thin blackened lips. His temples showed yet more black tendrils, snaking across his forehead and down his neck. He raised his hands and let a crackle of electricity spark on his fingertips.

 _The Dark consumes me,_ he thought to himself. _Yet I grow weaker._

He looked across as the warm body laying on his bed. They thought he wasn't aware of her purpose. But he had felt her watching him, lying quietly as if asleep, but spying, reporting. Yet, he didn't care. _He needed not to be alone._

He started, as suddenly his desk unit buzzed. Phasma. "Lord, could you please come to the throne room. General Hux requires your presence."

 _Here it comes._

Kylo spun on his heels and moved, heavily, from his chamber into the public hall. As he swung around, he felt the Stormtroopers guarding his door eye him closely. Another troupe marched towards him, their weapons held tightly to their chest. He flexed his leather gloves, and felt for his sabre. It hung against his thigh, as heavy as the foreboding in his heart. His hand clung to it as he swept towards the throne room. A hiss, as the grand doors opened before him.

Hux. The General stood close to the throne, his thin white face contorted into a rictus grin. All around him, spanning like a red flower, were eight of his own Knights, dressed in the red garb of the Praetorian Guard. A further four stood uneasily to the side, their eyes on him as he entered the room. Their hands were tied. His mind reached for the four. They reached back, and told him all he needed to know.

"Eight should be enough, don't you think?" said Hux, in response to the grim understanding slowly filling Kylo Ren's face. "Afterall, its not as if they are facing a _worthy_ opponent."

As he spoke, the eight Guards stepped forward, and drew their weapons. He felt their combined minds press against him, as they moved as one, just as he had taught them.

 _Why?_ he thought, simply.

 _Because you are still of the Light_ , they replied, as one. _You must die. You taught us this._

Kylo felt almost relief as his familiar rage started to build. This is what he needed. "No. You are wrong," he said, and he spoke the truth.

He drew his lightsabre, and lowered himself into a crouch, holding the sabre alongside him. His eyes glowed. His set his mind to the closest Knight, and lifted him from his feet. Quickly, he threw the body against another red solider, causing both to fall back into the wall, their weapons sparking as they clashed and melted. Kylo roared. He then threw himself upon a third Guard, effortlessly twirling his red laser around his head before plunging it into the Knight's leg. The Knight cried out in pain, and fell to the floor.

Kylo sensed a new doubt in the room. _He could still do this..._

"Such a shame," Hux began to speak, as Kylo stepped back to recover his footing. "That your own Knights have so little belief in you. But its a pattern, isn't it, Kylo? Even Snoke lost faith."

Hux stepped forward and glowered. " _Isn't that why you killed him?_ "

Kylo felt his rage tremble. The fear glittered beneath it, its tendrils snaking into his heart, like the black veins on his face. His sabre flared, and dulled. Flared, and dulled. One of the Guards stepped forward, and swung with all his might. His sabre cut through Kylo's cloak, sending up a cloud of smoke as the singed fabric fell to one side. Kylo instinctively raised his own sabre to meet the red solider's, but as they clashed, he felt a resistance.

"Isn't that why you also killed your father?" Hux continued. "Solo wasn't really convinced, was he, Kylo? When he was _there_ , of course. And the same with your mother. Even she gave up on you, in the end. Even..." he smiled, maliciously, "Even the girl rejected you."

"Shut UP!" roared Kylo, his rage again feeding him, like a fierce, painful shot to the heart. He threw his mind towards the General, pushing him onto his back as he stepped towards him. The remaining Guards stepped forwards to meet him. Together, they pushed Kylo back, causing him to drag his feet back towards the throne room doorway. Their minds came together, and lifted him from his feet.

In shock, Kylo's temporary rage once again subsided. Instead, he felt again the icy fronds of fear. He looked down in horror to see not just his feet dangling below, but a great black hole suddenly appear below him. _A vision._ It pulled at him, once, again, opening and closing like a great toothless maw. He felt his arms weaken.

General Hux rolled onto his belly, and lifted his head. "FINISH HIM!" he yelled. The remaining Red Guard stepped forwards, as one.

Kylo's eyes widened, as he surveyed the scene. The hole beneath sucked at him. _Come to me._

For a moment, he looked again. _Why...why not._

Then... he remembered. A similar fight in a similar throne room.

How easily she had slipped to his side, rolled onto his back as she kicked out against their foes.

He could still feel her light touch on his thigh...

 _Rey._

He looked down. The hole beneath him shimmered, reduced. He shook his hair back from his face, reached within himself and pulled, hard.

For an instance, his lightsabre glowed red, then flashed purple. Then, he streaked his left hand towards his remaining four Knights, and shouted. A rush of power smashed their chains into smithereens. All four immediately moved towards him, moving as one. Hux yelled, and scrambled to his feet. the Red Guard raised their sabres and ran...

Kylo moved forwards. He pushed back hard, sprawling them all across the floor. But then, just as he strengthened, his heart remembered.

" _Don't do this, Ben._ "

Her face, as the door closed. The _humiliation._ His sword glowed red, and dulled.

Then he saw his father's face. His hand, reaching for him, touching has face, as he slipped away, falling...

He gasped, and staggered backwards - once, twice. The four loyal Knights, sensing retreat, fell in with him, stepping back faster and faster before all five broke into a run. Kylo, leading the way, blinked back tears of frustration as he set his feet and his mind upon his command shuttle, and escape.


	6. Rey's Plan

"So... we're NOT teaching them to be Jedi?" Poe's face registered confusion. "So does that mean, no Force?"

Rey looked at her General's warm, open face. His eyes were always moving, flitting from her nose to her mouth to her eyes. Just like his long limbs, which flexed with the constant nervous energy that surged through his body. "I just don't understand," he finished.

"Me neither," interjected Finn, as the two men sat back around the Resistance 'circle', a set of small stones set out as a ring of seats. Their first council. Finn sat back, his legs splayed. Poe leant forwards, a coil of energy. Rey sat between them, on the grass, legs crossed.

She shook her head. "No. We still train them in the Force. But, not at the expense of their most important training. Which is to heal. These children are mostly orphans. Tortured, owned. Punished. Abandoned." Her eyes filled with tears.

 _You're nobody. You came from nothing._

"They can't control the Force without first controlling themselves," she continued. "And when I say control, I mean being at peace with themselves. Who they are, what they want. Who knows if any of these children actually want to be Jedi? Maybe they want to stay home. Raise a family. Farm. We shouldn't impose our future on them, just because they have this ability."

"But without them, we will fail," said Poe. "We can never win without the Light!"

"But in the past, we never won! The Jedi's past has mainly been... failure. This is what Luke said his very self." she continued. "So I've been thinking. This, where we are right now, at the very beginning - is the point where it always goes wrong. In our belief, we impose rules, regimes. Ways to be. All it means is that those without the right ...resistance...it will only end the same way. In more Kylo Rens. In more Vaders."

"Are you saying we create a new order of things?" asked Finn.

For a moment, Ben's faced flickered before her. _Join me._ She saw his face, his leathered hand, reaching for hers. His eyes, pleading. _Please._ She pushed the memory aside.

"Yes. We will train with the Force, but without expectation. We will expose them to all thoughts and ideas. Let them decide for themselves how to use their abilities. _Let them choose their path._ "

"But that's ridiculous," laughed Poe, incredulously. "We're soldiers in a war. We don't need self awareness. _We_ choose the path. _We_ require duty. We need to protect the Light."

"Exactly." she said, and gazed him down. "The Light can only be protected this way. Otherwise, its not the Light. Its just our own version of it projected onto others."

'I'm confused," said Finn. But he looked at Rey's face, and saw a determination. "However... if Rey feels this is her path, then who are we to question. She's the one with the Force. Right, Poe?" He turned to the older man. "Poe?"

Poe regarded her for a moment. He placed a hand against his forehead and rasped with exasperation. "This is just an apology." he said, in a low voice. "This is you just trying to justify his behaviour. Don't you remember anything? He killed Solo. He killed his _own father._ "

Poe stood, and his face contorted with disgust.

"You can't save him. You know this. _Stop trying._ "

At Poe's words, Finn's mind turned back to his days as Stormtrooper. In his mind's eye, he saw Kylo Ren's long stride, the slow rasp of his breath behind the mask, as he ordered murder after murder...

He looked again at Rey, and saw a knot of concern form in her forehead. Or doubt?

"Rey," he said, quietly. "Poe has a point. You wanted to be right about him, I know. But you were _wrong_. He spared you, but for his own means. He always intended to kill Snoke."

Rey looked at him, uncertainty in her eyes.

"Perhaps, sometimes, people just turn to the Dark...because they want to," continued Finn. "Because, unlike you, they don't have the strength to stay in the Light, when everything else fails them. They don't recognise their rescue when it stares them in the face. Should we really pander to that? Shouldn't we expect them to know right from wrong, and make sacrifice? Isn't this exactly the values, the abilities, we need?"

"But that's the point," she said, again, he jaw tightening with resolve. Or was it stubbornness? "It must be a willing sacrifice to hold true. Don't ask for a man to step away from love, when that's what he needs. This is what created Vader. Unless we focus first on who they are, we can't be sure we're not just creating another army for the Dark. I won't do that. I won't keep... creating this same circle."

Poe sat down again, his shoulders rising, then falling, and he considered the situation.

"Okay," he said, after a while. "I will support you to train these children however you wish. But only on this basis. That you do this because you believe, in your heart, that this is the right path? And because you accept in doing so, that Ben Solo is gone? Because I can see in your eyes how this clouds you. I hate to see it. _I hate it._ "

He stepped closer to her, and pulled her to her feet. He placed a finger gently on her cheek. "You can't save everyone, Rey. You just can't."

Rey's eyes teared up again as she remembered Leia's words. "But..." She choked up. "She called to me. She told me..."

"Rey, Rey.." Poe continued, and pulled her towards him. He held her closely, feeling the rise and fall of her chest. "Leia was facing her own death. At his hands. Even so, her last thought would have been for him. He's her _child_. She had to have the hope. It doesn't mean it's true."

He pushed her gently away again, and looked into her eyes. "Tell me, promise me. That the past is over. Its just the future we're building. Yes?"

She stared back, and felt her heart contract as she nodded.

 _Goodbye, Ben._


	7. A Dream

Kylo Ren sat at the controls, pushing his command shuttle as fast as it would go through the expanse of space. He had no idea where he was going, or why, but he punched the ship up another notch and kicked it as fast as he could. He felt light headed, dizzy, weak. He held onto the controls so hard his knuckles turned silver beneath his gloves.

His Knights were down below, pulling together their thoughts after the escape. He had no desire to see them, or speak, or to breathe. He had lost everything.

He choked back a wave of emotion as he changed course and set again as false trail for the Now Order's pursuit team. "Snoke is just using you. Once he's used you, he'll kill you," he heard his father's voice in his ears. Solo has lost that battle, but won the war. He had been right.

He closed his eyes, flicked back the autopilot switch, and pushed back. He raised his hands to his face and closed his eyes.

It was then it struck him. _She was here._

He turned his head, and through the blackness of the expanse, saw her face appear. Her eyes were closed. She slept. She was fully clothed, and wrapped in what resembled a blanket.

He gazed upon her. Her hair was unkempt, thrown back from her face. She gripped an ancient book against her chest. He moved closer, as slowly more of her appeared to him, first her torso, then arms, then the full length of her lithe, boyish body as she lay, wrapped asleep. The moonlight gleamed on her face.

She glowed.

Suddenly, he felt a surge of rage rise in his throat. The last time he saw that face, she had stared him down from the Falcon, her eyes gleaming in a mask of disappointment. Of resolve. _Next time._... her face had promised.

 _You're dead to me._

But as she laid before him, so still, so quiet, he felt the rage drain from him almost as quickly as it arrived. He knew he wanted to _hurt_ her. He knew wanted to _kill_ her.

But he also _wanted_ her. He _needed_ her. He curled a lip in disgust as he remembered what he said.

 _Please._

The rage rose again. He raised a hand, and slowly pulled a glove from his hand, finger by finger. He was going to _touch_ her. _You know I can take what I want._

His hand moved towards her throat, and hung above her for a moment.

 _I wonder if I could kill her now,_ he thought. _Maybe she's the last link. Solo, Leia... Skywalker. Maybe if she's gone, everything will be as it should be._

No, said a voice within him. No.

She moved slightly in her slumber, rolling onto her back. Her eyes flickered, and her lips fell slightly apart.

He sat back in surprise.

 _What was that? Something spoke to me._ Words that made him feel more certain of something than he ever had, in his whole life. It terrified him.

He waited for a moment as a jolt of electricity rushed through him, and settled into his centre, like a glowing ember. He felt dizzy, as if he couldn't breathe. But breathe he did - in, out - as he steadied himself. He lowered his head.

Moments passed. He closed his eyes, and listened hard for the familiar whirr of hyperspace, to hold onto something. After some time, he spoke again, in a voice so low it was almost a whisper, that came from somewhere inside him so buried, he could barely remember ever feeling that his own voice.

"Can you only come to me in dreams?"

He opened his eyes, half expecting her to be gone, but if not, for his words to wake her, for her to spring to her feet, close him down, shut him out. But she continued to slumber, save for the slightest sigh. _She glowed_. He tried again. "Why do you come to me? What do you want?" He felt a tremor rise in his throat.

She turned her head away from him, and then back. Her forehead creased, momentarily. "What disturbs you in your sleep?" he continued. Then, darkly, "Do you wish me dead?"

No, said the voice within him, again. No.

She moved her hand away from the book she gripped in her hand, so it gently dropped to the floor. He hand pushed down, so it lay above the blanket that draped across her torso. Her fingers pulled apart.

He moved closer, then gently lowered a single finger onto her ring finger. She shivered, imperceptibly.

Again, he saw the future. The same vision. Together, they stood. Side by side.

 _How can this be?_ he asked himself. _What am I seeing if not the truth..?_

He leaned in, his face just inches from hers. _What is this thing that still links us?_

Still, he heard nothing from her. She said nothing. But he watched in amazement as she moved her hand, to gently capture his in her own. He felt another jolt inside himself, but this time it was simply warmth, certainty. Peace. But just as quickly, he felt a surge of confusion, anger. He pulled hand away. His head spun. His insides roiled, like a stormy sea.

Close to tears, he murmured, "But why do I need you..why? Rey. _Rey. What am I supposed to do?_ "

Then he saw it come into his mind, as clear as day, as clear as the voice within him he now recognised as his own.

A map, a route, through the stars. An island. Peace. Violence. Warmth. Cold. Life. Decay, Death.

 _Ahch - To._

He saw the black hole, opening, closing, opening, closing. Calling to him.

He blinked, and she was gone.


	8. Snoke's Legacy

Hux stared down at the TIE pilot and glowered. "You lost him," he muttered. "You... lost him. We can't afford to have him _exist._ Where did you last pick up his trace?"

"Gamma Quadrant, Master," replied the Stormtrooper, nervously. "He just ... disappeared."

As he spoke, Phasma arrived at the Throne Room door. She stepped purposefully towards the Supreme Leader, watching him closely as he leant back against the golden seat. Around him, stood his 8 Praetorian Guards, their bodies motionless, but their cold, expressionless masks turned directly towards the black suited pilot, who moved uncomfortably on the spot.

"Master," she said. "We have news of the Resistance base."

Hux's head snapped towards her. He nodded, and stepped from the Throne, passing the pilot as he headed towards his Commander.

"Guards," he said, waving his hand as he stepped towards Phasma. She stepped in beside him, and both proceeded to exit the Throne Room, moving instead into the elevator. The pair spun around, and watched as the doors closed upon his Guards slowly circling the Stormtrooper, their hands moving to their sabre holsters.

The doors closed with a clunk, and the elevator started to accelerate towards the lower floors.

"Tell me," said Hux.

"We picked up a communication from their allies. Ciphered, but targeted at the tiny planet of Zuarilia. A scout picked up a freighter trail. It looks like they are smuggling in new blood."

"Excellent, Phasma. Excellent," Hux's eyes gleamed with triumph. "Then we have them. Set a course, but let's not jump just yet. Timing on this is crucial."

"Yes, Master," she replied.

He turned his head towards her. "And how do preparations go?"

Phasma waited a beat, before speaking, "We have the texts. It appears Snoke completed his Gifting in the months before he formed the First Order. But it's not an easy ceremony to complete. There's also not the small matter of getting the the Guards to agree..."

"Leave that with me," continued Hux. "I recognise their need for a leader. It will come naturally, at the right time."

"There's also the - effects," she continued. "Master, are you sure this is what you -"

"It's the only way to secure our complete, and final, control." he replied, firmly. "The Dark side has always led our side, and it cannot be any other way. Also... I admit, I'm curious."

"It could kill you, Sir," she replied, bluntly.

"I think not," he replied.

He then continued, "Meanwhile, Kylo Ren's escape is.. _unhelpful._ I suggest we send another team to track him down."

"Where do you think he would be headed?"

"He's lost, like a wounded animal. So I imagine, back to the past. Whatever he may have called home."

The elevator slowed, and stopped. The doors hissed open, and Hux stepped out. He turned, and their eyes locked.

"Is there something more?" he asked. "You...hesitate."

Phasma's expressionless mask remained motionless, as she considered herself. Finally, she spoke. "Master. Is Kylo Ren really a threat? Our focus should perhaps be on the ..."

Hux raised a hand. _Stop._

Slowly, he spoke. "Kylo Ren is broken. His own feelings are tearing him apart. But as long as he lives, he represents Hope, to the Resistance. Hope that perhaps he will find his way back.

"And for that, he must die."


	9. Ahch-To

Kylo Ren stepped from his command shuttle onto the windswept island. The rain hurled itself at him like a wall, supplemented with the spray of a surging, violent sea. His eyes stung with the salt. The wind howled.

Bracing himself against the wind, he pulled up his hood and moved purposefully up the stone steps then opened up before him, towards a small, medieval village. He was flanked by two of his Knights. As he arrived, and moved into the small hamlet, a cursory glance proved what he suspected. This was Skywalker's lair.

He pushed ajar a metal door, and stepped into his old Master's cavern. Then, he gazed with contempt at the old man's belongings.

 _See you around, kid._

Kylo pushed back his sabre, readying himself for destruction, when something caught his eye. He moved towards the folded fabric of Luke's Jedi robes. Nestled within, he saw the unmistakable hilt of his uncle's lightsabre.

"Where are we, Master?" One of his Knights asked, from outside the door.

"A tomb," replied Kylo, his voice echoing against the stony walls.

He reached for the sabre, but as he did so he felt a whisper in his ear. A call. His head spun around, and he quickly moved back outside into the rain. "Wait here," he ordered. "And don't come for me unless I call."

Kylo's heavy boots thumped as he made his way towards the rocky shore. As he walked, the whisper grew louder. Something was calling. The sky was darkening, and the storm did not abate, but his feet remained steady as he slowly reached the edge of the shore.

He looked down. The great hole opened up before him, its great maw ringed with blackened, spidery seaweed. He felt a cold finger tap his spine.

Momentarily, he felt the urge the move away. To run. But he stood his ground. His heart _knew_ this place. This place was _his_. It belonged to the Dark. He lowered himself down towards it, looked down, and jumped.

Almost immediately he felt the freezing cold water envelop him as his heavy bulk crashed into the pool below. But he opened his arms and propelled himself up, his feet finding the rocky bottom as he slowly stepped out of the water into the cavern. He pushed his hands through his hair, slicking it back from his face as he paced up to the black quartz wall that gleamed before him.

Kylo surveyed the mirror, as he unfastened his soaking cape. It dropped to his feet with a slop.

'What is this place?" he said aloud, as he words reverberated around the cavernous walls. The echos subsided, leaving only silence, and the slow tap of water, dripping from above. The sea continued to roar outside, its waves crashing through a tiny crack in the cavern walls, like a caged creature reaching for its prey.

Kylo moved forwards, pulling his gloves from each finger, and dropping them to the ground. He reached out a hand, and pushed.

Instantly, Kylo felt himself enveloped in a tunnel. He was alone. Whereas before, he heard the roar of the ocean, here, he heard nothing. It was completely silent. Before him, was a long, dark mirror. A shadow moved within.

Slowly, the shadow morphed, and took shape.

 _Vader._

Kylo stepped back, and took as sharp intake of breath. "Grandfather."

Vader said nothing. But then he moved. He removed his mask, and threw it aside, but it revealed no face. There was only a pair of glowing red eyes floating in a black nothingness. Then, his dark robes melted away, lightening first to gray, and then to white. The eyes were slowly surrounded by a face of a young man, handsome. His face grew larger, larger as he eyes changed to a warm brown. And in those eyes...

 _A girl._

Kylo erupted. Immediately he pulled his lightsabre from his holster, and crashed its blade against the vision. He heard a great smash as the mirror shattered into tiny pieces, spraying him with a million silver shards. Then a huge force punched into him, lifting his from his feet, into the air. He landed heavily on the water, his legs jacknifing above him as he disappeared into the freezing pool. He gasped.

Momentarily, Kylo righted himself, spun around, and pawed for the water's edge. He pulled himself up, onto his feet, and back towards the wall. His face stung. He placed his hands against his skin, then took them away. They were covered with blood.

But the mirrored wall was perfectly intact.

"What is this..." he hissed. And then, with a roar, 'What do you think to show me? Do you think I don't know?" He swept a hand down to retrieve his lightsabre, which now lay on the cold cavern floor.

He paced up against the wall, and drew it again. "That's not going to happen to ME."

Again, he reached out, and pushed against the quartz.

He saw the shadow again, and readied himself. But as it again morphed, and took shape, but then changed again. It was not one girl, but many. Padme. Then... his mother. She was young, pretty.

"Take it away!" he yelled. "I killed it!"

And then, the face changed again. He felt the growl reverberate in his chest even before it stopped moving. _Rey._ And she wore the exact expression she had all those months ago, in the very instance she made her choice. Disappointment. Her eyes had hardened, closed him out, shut him away. The door closed.

Kylo roared and again raised his lightsabre to crash it into the wall. Red splinters flew up against its surface. Once again, the wall exploded before him, again showering thousands of tiny shards into his face. Again, he felt the lift and the wind against his back, before he again fell into the pool. This time a rock caught him beneath the surface, shredding his tunic and slashing at his flank.

Without stopping for breath, Kylo again rose from the waters, dragging his sword behind him as his face contorted in fury. He roared, and raised his blade once more. But just as he prepared to charge, a flicker of light caught his eye.

He turned.

The glow brightened, into a flame. And then, it lowered, changing to a light green. Inside, sat ravaged, bearded face shrouded in linen robes. Luke Skywalker.

"Hello kid," he said, his voice filled with wry humour. "You going to smash that thing up all night?"


	10. Poe's Doubt

"It wasn't... it wasn't supposed to happen," sobbed Rey, holding her head in her hands as she lay, curled in a ball, in her cot. "I still can't believe it... Temiri... he was so... _special._ " At the young padawan's name, Rey's voice faltered yet again, and new wave of sobs wracked her slim frame.

Finn started to move his hand gently up and down her back, as he sat beside her, watching her with wide, wet eyes. He had never seen her so... broken. _Not even after Han._

Across from them both, sat Poe, his face set in stone. "Finn," he said, his voice severe. " _Tell me._ What the hell is going on? What happened?"

Finn started to speak, but his voice trembled with the memory of seeing the boy's small frame, lying across the rocks. "He was just playing... he thought he could do it... but it was too far."

"Finn!" barked Poe. "Again!"

A good soldier, Finn recognised when his superior office needed fast answers, and a clear head. He gritted his teeth, and started again.

"Rey..." he started, his eyes locking into the General's. "Rey was doing the Leap of Faith training with the padawans earlier today. It's supposed to show how being calm... can help you channel ... whatever it is these kids channel. But something went wrong. She was just showing them what could be possible, eventually...but Terimi..."

"Terimi jumped? How the hell did that happen!?," Poe's tone was incredulous. Even he knew the basics of the Leap of Faith. It was a lesson Rey had read about in the Jedi texts, that demonstrated how secure, and calm emotional states could amplify Force abilities. The Jedi master teaching the lesson would then demonstrate this by placing themselves in some form of meditation, and then - to all sense and purposes - fly over a short, but deep, drop. The depth of the drop was important to show the master trusted themselves.

"Flying requires a constant effort, and constant concentration," he remembered Rey's words when she first started to use the lesson, six or so weeks back. She'd only just started to crack it herself, and had terrified him as she (seemingly effortlessly) had lifted herself across a short, but deep crevice in the foothills above their valley hideout.

He'd been minded to outlaw it then and there, but she had won him over as usual, when he saw the sheer excitement and enthusiasm she had about the lesson. "This is one of the useful ones," she said, showing as usual her respectful, if casual, attitude towards the dusty, ancient books she had recovered from Ahch-To. "It shows why a happiness is crucial to being able to wield the Force. Its exactly what's pure about it. And _true_."

He'd also been relieved to hear her inference that she, too, was happy. He'd come down hard on her about Kylo Ren, he knew. But he also knew she was large hearted, and large hearts make the best targets, especially for lost, murderous, madmen.

His reverie was interrupted as Rey rolled onto her back, tears rolling down her cheeks. She turned her eyes to his. "It was meant to inspire them... to show them, what's possible. It wasn't a challenge. It wasn't a competition..."

Three of the young padawan's had been starry eyed following her display, Finn continued. Poe listened as he realised that they, in their folly, had tried to recreate her feat.

Temiri, who had been abandoned and held into slavery on Canto Bight, didn't have a chance. His little body had been found, but an hour ago, at the foot of the drop. The other two had fled, presumably out of fear. The Wookie was out looking for them this very moment, but they were running out of time.

Poe shook his head, his face morphing between pain and anger. _One padawan dead. Two probably even more messed up than they were when they got here, and god knows if we'll ever find them in time. How are we supposed to rebuild the Force this way? They're as rare as hen's teeth as it is..._

"I know," breathed Rey, her sobs slowly passing. Of course, she sensed his dismay and yes, his _disappointment_. Poe felt himself tense up, his emotions churning both anger at the loss, and also guilt that she knew what he would have said if he had the brutal honesty to say it. _I told you this might not work._

Outside, in the distance, the three heard the unmistakable sounds of engines starting up. There was shouts as the community packed the last of its belongings, and readied itself to flee.

Poe grabbed the bag next to him and threw it at Rey, jutting his jaw as he softened his tone. "Either way. Now's not the time. We've got to go."

 _Perhaps they would have noticed Temiri had gone missing, if the boy hadn't decided to have skip class just as Lando's message had come through._

"They're onto you. Get out."

Perhaps Rey would have recognised how infectious her enthusiasm was, if she wasn't such as young woman herself.

They couldn't be these kid's parents. Not while they were waging a war.


	11. The Cavern

"Skywalker," Kylo Ren's coral eyes glowered at his old Master. "You just won't stay dead, will you?" His voice challenged, but his tone was flat.

He stood, mid swing, his lightsabre searing red against the blackness of the cavern walls. His chest heaved with his exertions. The black quartz, as ever, showed nor chip, or mark.

Luke looked hard at his former student, and then down at himself. He found himself sitting, cross-legged, on a small ledge that passed along the wall of the cavern. A faint green glow surrounded his legs. After a moment, he looked up again, and motioned towards the wall. "You do know that's rock, don't you? Or has the Dark made you stupid, as well as rotten?"

 _Rotten is the word,_ thought Luke. Ren stood before him, soaked to the skin, and with barely a tunic left on his body. His torso looked, as ever, as if hewn from marble beneath the black fabric. But his skin was so pale as to be translucent, and marked with bruises. Blood streaked across his flank, hands and face. His once lustrous hair was overlong and tangled, framing a wintry face set with red, glaring eyes. Black veins snaked across his temples, and down his neck.

 _He's literally poisoning himself._ Luke's thoughts turned momentarily to his father, and that moment he first pulled that black mask from his face. _Luke._

Kylo shrugged. "I came for answers. But it shows me nothing." But he lowered his lightsabre anyway, almost welcoming a distraction. He withdrew it with a buzz, hitched it to his belt then returned his eyes to Luke's. "Nothing of _value,_ anyway."

Then Kylo started to pace, up and down, looking sporadically as the wall, and then his feet.

Luke watched his former student closely. After a while, he asked, "So. What did you see?"

"Why should you care?" spat Kylo.

Luke studied Kylo's face as he replied, "Well. It appears neither of us have much to lose. Or do, right now. So... "

Kylo halted, and rocked back and forth on the balls of his feet. The raw energy pulsing from his was palpable.

"Vader," he said, after a while. Then, turning his face to the wall, "He just couldn't kill him."

Luke's eyes narrowed. "Who?"

"Anakin." replied the younger man, curling his lip as if chewing on bitter lemons. "At the crucial moment, he failed. Because of _sentiment."_

Luke watched as Kylo started again to stalk the cavern, his thoughts continuing their agitation. For a second, Luke saw a flash of a boy he used to know in those dark, brooding eyes.

"So - Vader, your idol - _disappoints_ you?"

The younger man stopped again, and clenched his jaw as he considered the question. "No," he said, presently. "But...he _was_ trapped." Then, seemingly to himself, Kylo continued, "And where he failed, I could still succeed."

Luke, despite himself, felt his blood begin to warm. "Trapped? Then it was a trap of his own choosing!"

As soon as he had said it, Luke instinctively knew he had made a mistake. A voice in his head agreed. _Speak, you must not. Instead, listen._

 _Yoda?_

As soon as he finished speaking, Kylo spun and stamped his right foot, lowering himself to face Luke as he unsheathed his sabre again. _His fighting stance had always been thus,_ Luke thought; _challenging, loose, and primal._ _I shouldn't be baiting him._

"The expectation on his shoulders!" hissed Kylo. "The weight of being the chosen one. But could he choose?" His eyes were glowing near -scarlet against the pulse of his sabre. Then he let out a roar. "I left you before you could indoctrinate me into the Skywalker lies! The Jedi - dedicated to knowledge. But not about human needs! Dedicated to the truth. Except when it comes to speaking the sordid truth of Lord Vader!"

Luke winced at the reference. _So this was part of the rub._

 _Where with this are you going,_ came the voice.

"I'm not sure," murmured Luke.

 _Careful, you must be._

Luke had been party to Leia's insistence that Kylo Ren never knew that his grandfather had been the Dark Lord Vader. At the time it had seemed the right choice, to protect him. But later, the truth came out at the New Republic Senate, ruining Leia's career.

The painfully public fallout landed yet another blow into Ben's already shaky view of his family, who he had clearly regarded as unreachable, almost neglectful, especially his wandering father. The young man was already bewildered, unsure of his place despite his obvious talents. In retrospect, Luke had underestimated these combined effects on his psyche. Snoke had not.

Luke felt another sensation rise in his chest. Shame. He looked steadily at his nephew.

"We did love you," he said, simply.

"Then why did you abandon me?" yelled the younger man, lifting his sword. He sliced into the air, crashing his blade into a nearby stalactite. The rock crashed to the ground. "Because my path was already chosen, wasn't it? And who needs direction when his destination is already so well mapped...!"

His chest heaved again with the exertion of the swing. For a moment, it looked as if he would faint. But after a slight stagger, he regained his footing, and once again swung around to face his former Master.

"You felt trapped," said Luke. It wasn't a question. The younger man just stared at him. "And _alone._ "

Luke raised his hand and stroked his long, grey beard. He noticed the blood pouring out of the wound on Ben's back.

"So are you now free?" asked Luke.

Again, he noticed Ben sway slightly to one side as he spoke. The young man, perhaps starting to feel his own wounds, once again allowed his sabre to withdraw. He scanned around for somewhere to sit. His eyes looked around, but didn't seem to see.

"I thought it would be easier..." he murmured, his words now starting to slur. "To destroy my past. I had less brainwashing... than Vader. And I _chose_ this. I actively chose this path! To escape your _poison._.."

He staggered forwards again. but his eyes flared. His rage was a wildfire... ebbing, raging, calming... then destroying...

"But every time I make the right choice, it wrong," he suddenly blurted out. His low voice trembled. "It gets harder."

And then, "I can't step forward, and I can't step back..."

"Its not too late," said Luke, and he meant every word.

"You lie!" once again, that anger in Kylo's voice. "You know what I've done."

Luke gestured at the wall. "But Vader... my father.. he came back..."

"Are you a fool?" cried Ben, half sobbing now, but a growl still edged his voice. "Your father _chose_ to die. For you. He knew by facing Palpatine he would die. Death is easy! A welcome release!" The young man was now openly sobbing. "But I don't _want_ to die. I want to live. But how _can_ I live?"

Kylo gestured at the black mirror in front of him. "I'm...I'm..."

Luke lowered his legs and slowly raised himself up. He took a slow step from the ledge, moving quietly, slowly, like a rider breaking a mustang. He drew closer to the younger man, and whispered, "But there are still people who believe."

Ben let out a strangled laugh. "Who. You?" His legs then went out from under him, and he dropped to the floor.

Luke felt the urge to rush towards him, but held himself back. He said nothing.

"She does." said Ben, quietly. And Luke realised then, that the connection had been real. _I thought he was toying with her. Using her. But in fact..._

"Or, she did," Kylo then spat. "And I hoped... we could create something new. Because after everything I've done... she almost gave me..."

"Hope?" Luke's voice echoed across the cavern walls.

Kylo turned his big, dark eyes to Luke's. "The only thing I know," he said, slowly. "Is that she _has_ to live. But I can't lead the First Order and _not_ kill her. And it would deny everything I believe to become Jedi. So I can't..."

For a moment, both fell silent, listening only to the drip-drip of water, falling into the cavern from above.

"So what do you want, Ben?"

"To be myself!"

"And who _is_ that?"

Suddenly Kylo lurched to his feet again, and threw out his sabre. "A fool, who killed everything, to be left with nothing!" he cried. His lightsabre roared to life, as he began, again, to smash at the rocks surrounding him. "But you... don't... care! You're just here to mock me! You're just here to... watch me die..."

Luke pulled himself to his full height as he watched his nephew lash out at his surroundings. Without thinking, he cried, "Then make it worth something! Create something!" Luke stepped forwards. "You're right! We go so much wrong. I got so much wrong. But learn from me. Learn from our failures. My failure. _Please_."

"How...can...I build... from.. these ashes...?" cried Ben, his aim now spinning out of his control as his legs started to buckle again from under his feet.

"Reach out to her!" Luke cried. "She doesn't belong to the Light. She's just ...herself."

Ben stopped, his chest heaving. He looked up, his eyes filled with tears, and swung his sword down to his side. Suddenly, he walked towards the wall again, and placed a hand on its mirror like surface.

He looked within, and as he did so, his face crumpled.

 _Han,_ thought Luke. _He sees Han._

Ben let out a terrible, pained cry, and lifted his lightsabre again. Once more, he wheeled around, crashing his sword into the rocks around him. Sparks flew, as more tiny shards of rock and glass sliced into his face and body. Luke's face softened, and he felt nothing but pain and compassion for this poor, lost, young man.

 _Rage this is not,_ said Yoda. _It is sorrow._

Finally, Ben gasped, staggered, and fell to the floor. This time however, he passed out, and lay quite still. His lightsabre skittered across the floor towards Luke's feet.

"Sleep, my prince," said Luke, slowly disappearing, as he heard the cries of the Knights of Ren nearing the cavern, looking for their master...


	12. Rey's Return

Rey looked down at the vast expanse of sand below her and she gunned the Falcon down towards Jakku's surface. It had been a long, long time since she had seen her home planet, and seeing it now gave her a surge of mixed feelings. Sadness, at the years she had spent, waiting. But also, a kind of relief. She's felt so lost since the loss of the boy, it was reassuring to see something so familiar. Like it or not, it had been home, and in a way, it always would be.

BB-8 burbled and tweeted alongside her as she took the freighter into land. "Take the droid," Poe had said, as she had explained why she was leaving for a little while. "I need you safe, as I need you to come back." He hasn't fully understood, she knew, but equally he realised she needed to take some time out. The dark hurt in his eyes also showed another type of disappointment. He cared for her, she knew.

After the First Order's discovery of their base, the Resistance had taken to the skies for several months, keeping moving as they figured out their next steps. Poe had proved to be an excellent General, as Leia no doubt had known he would. He had worked tirelessly these past few months to keep the team safe, as well as grow it beyond expectations.

Thanks to his work, the Resistance had grown not just in numbers, but also in ships, supplies, and vitally - allies. It was now developing to be a true force to be reckoned with.

Exactly when that reckoning would take place, however... that was yet to transpire. News of the First Order was patchy. They also seemed to be holding back, waiting for.. something.

Rey felt a thump as the Falcon landed on the soft sand dunes alongside her old hideout. She stood, and walked heavily towards the ramp. For a moment, she stood half in, half out, feeling the hot breeze of the dunes on her face. She closed her eyes.

It'd been so much less simple for her than for Poe.

After the loss of the boy, Rey had known clearly that the redevelopment of the Jedi Order was not her path to follow. As much as it pained her, she had recognised that not only was she not ready to develop the next generation of Light users, the times were equally not right.

Force development had always happened in either war time or during high tensions between the Dark and Light, and this had always had a huge impact on the padawan themselves as they tried to mould themselves to either.

Luke himself had recognised it. Trying to force the Force, essentially, ended in failure. It could no longer be harnessed for war. It was too...personal. It could only really be harnessed by a person's _heart._

 _But where does this leave me?_ Rey had thought so many times to herself as she had laid in her bunk on the Falcon as they Resistance moved from star scape to star scape. It was still a question she asked herself. In the end, she knew she needed to get away, to try and wrestle some sort of answer from herself. _What part does the Force play in all this, if its not to fight?_

She knew in her heart she was still a soldier. She knew she wanted to develop her own skills to fight for, and defend, the Resistance and all it stood for - democracy, compassion, protection of the innocent...

But she didn't want to lead a _religion._ But was that giving up? _Was she, afterall, really the last Jedi?_

She opened her eyes again and stepped out into the sun. Then slowly, she walked down towards her old hideout.

The ship was still covered in sand, its remnants bleached by the beating sun. It was even more stripped than it had been previously. As she moved inside the hull, she immediately noticed the hundreds of scratches she had made on metal panelling inside. A scratch for every day she had waited for her parents to return.

 _You're nobody._

She heard his low tenor, almost as if he was still here with her. She'd been so hurt when he had outlined the truth to her, so cruelly. She could see his dark eyes on her. But however he had said the words, there had been honesty there. She knew in her heart, he had been right. Her parents had barely existed, and had barely cared.

 _But not to me._

She pressed her lips together and moved him from her mind. It was no good. He also believed her cared for her, she knew this. Again, it felt like an honest belief. But his understanding of care was so warped, so damaged - she was no fool.

It wasn't care. It wasn't _love._ It was just a mangled recognition that she had once been as lonely as him.

Was still as lonely?

Rey shook her head. She had learnt long ago that wallowing in her sadness never helped.

He made his choice though. He had acted like a spoilt child, afterwards, raging as he always did. And now, presumably, he was the Supreme Leader. And surely, lost to the ages.

Though Leia had said...

 _Save him._

Suddenly, Rey was interrupted by the sound of clanking outside. Recognising the unmistakable sound of the Falcon's hull, she quickly rushed out, to be met with the vision of a small, elderly man, tapping on the side of her freighter with a metal bar.

"Hey!" she cried. "That's my ride."

The old man stepped back, quickly, his white, wiry eyebrows raising in surprise. "Sorry," he said, not unkindly. "I thought it was..."

"Junk, yes..." replied Rey, her irritation plain on her face. "But its not for scrap."

"Plainly," replied the man, and he started to move away. He wore only a simple backpack, and seemed to be on foot.

"Hang on!" cried Rey, suddenly. She was suddenly struck with the need to talk to this man. He was clearly a scavenger, just like she had been. Something in her needed to connect with him, though she had no idea why.

"How are things here?" she asked, "Is Unkar Plutt still living off scavenger sweat? The monster."

The old man turned and looked at her, quizzically. "You've been away a while, huh?"

It was Rey's turn to look confused.

The old man continued, "Plutt's long gone. Three months or more. There's a new King."

"Really?" replied Rey. "Who?"

"The Sand King. Our _Amghar_. But he's no Plutt."

"Worse?"

The old man smiled. "No. He's a King, like I said. A true King. He came here a while ago, and threw that Crolute out. Took his wealth, and built a town for us. Hired the best of us, those who wanted to work, to make something. So now we have a town, a King, and... _lives._ "

Rey looked at him, incredulously. She had waited years, for something to happen. And when she left, it did.

"You thought I was a scavenger," continued the old man. "I was. But now I make things with what I find. I sell them, here and further away." The old man suddenly pulled an exquisite metal sculpture from underneath his robes. It was a sculpture of a Fathier, one of those beautiful racing beasts she had heard so much of, shaped from hundreds of tiny wires of reworked metal, and polished so it shone like a mirror.

"And we have the real thing, too," he said. "Fathiers. We race them, and breed them. The very best in the galaxy - you wait. Because we look after them." He smiled, and she realised the old man was telling the truth. She looked again at him and noticed, for the first time, his clothes were not the rags of a scavenger, but a loose, well-made fabric, dyed in a shade of blue. He wore leather sandals on his feet.

"But come see for yourself," said the old man. "Just head for the monument, and then head for the sunset."

With a flick of his hand, he gestured to the horizon, where Rey could just make out a tall, sandstone obelisk rising into the sky.

The old man then whistled, and to her astonishment, a real Fathier thundered from around the corner to the old man's side. He leapt onto its back, and together, the two of them made off, the beast throwing up clouds of dust behind it as it headed off at considerable speed.

 _This isn't even home anymore,_ Rey thought to herself. She felt a pang of grief. _But why I am I sad? This was a terrible place._

Without looking back, Rey stepped aboard the Falcon again, started her up, and did the quick jaunt towards the monument, as the old man had suggested.

Soon, she was standing in front of it. It was shaped from sandstone, and reached a good 40 feet into the air. It resembled a needle, with its base wider than its pinnacle, but it had substance. It felt.. meaningful. Rey started to walk around it, looking for something to tell her what this thing was _for._

Suddenly, she noticed a tiny inscription on the base stone, written in a simple, bold script.

 _For the people we lost, or gave away._

Rey's eyes welled up, and she began to cry.


	13. Hux's Change

"Do we have a choice, Master?"

The Praetorian Guard's echoed across the Throne Room as he stared at General Hux, who sat seated on the Throne itself. The tone of the Guard's voice however already suggested he knew the truth.

There were no options.

As if it wasn't clear enough from Hux's demand itself, the Guard looked around again at the small army of Stormtroopers who were also in the room. All carried their weapons closely to their chest.

The Guard looked down once more at the restraints around his wrists. Then, he looked again at his brothers, all former Knights of Ren and all similarly restrained, and sighed. From the slow shaking of their heads, he knew they were just as conflicted as he was.

"Of course," replied Hux, lifting himself from the Throne and turning his body to face that of the Guard in question. "You either gift your Force to me, or you die. I have no need of you unless it is to help me become which I know I must. Which you _know_ I must."

Hux looked so different in the new clothing he wore. Instead of his usual uniform, he was wearing a long black robe and cloak, with the hood pulled over his pale face. On his hand, he wore a black diamond ring.

 _Snoke's ring._

Phasma, who was standing to one side, coughed, and continued to explain.

"If we are to finish the Resistance once and for all, we _must_ harness the Force against their Light. This honoured role sat with Kylo Ren. But as we know, he was not worthy of his position. Sadly, none of you, individually, are as powerful as he. But together, we can rebuild, if you combine your powers and gift them to Supreme Leader Hux.

She carried on, "This is exactly the process Supreme Leader Snoke took, decades ago, in the Unknown Quarter. Do you think men such as he just appear from nowhere? No. He harnessed the powers of others through himself. And with that, he created one of the most powerful Force users the galaxy has ever seen."

As she spoke, Hux grinned from ear to ear, as he lifted his hand to show the black diamond on his finger.

Hux continued, "Look at this gem!" The black rock glowed dully against his silvery-white skin. "This obsidian is from the same rock on which Vader himself built his castle. Snoke himself cut a stone from that rock, and forged this ring, to complete the same ceremony that we ourselves will begin just in but moments. This is a historic day! And to think we would never have known if Snoke hadn't died. With his death, his secret books were revealed. And this ring passed to me - this ring, a Force nexus in itself."

He pulled his hand closer to himself, and gazed upon the ring.

Meanwhile, Phasma pulled out a dusty tome, and opened it up. "To gift your power," she said, "You just focus on the ring. Use your will to direct our request towards it. And together, you will imbue our Supreme Leader with your combined sensitivities. Your combined power!"

"But what..." murmured the Guard. "Will happen... to us?"

"You will be tied to me," replied Hux, his lips thinning as he started to pace before the Throne. "You will _not_ die. But we will become...one. Every thought, every action, will be as if we are one. You will become Supreme Leader... and I, in turn, will be your Guard."

The Guard looked down at his restraints, then up again at Hux.

He had not imagined this day would come, but now he was here, he understood and recognised that he had a part to play in the final destruction of the hated Jedi. The Jedi who has damaged and destroyed his previous Brother, Kylo Ren, and still poisoned his heart against the truth of the Dark side.

He wished he could have been the Vader Kylo could not. He had no desire to be ...merged. But he also knew, that together, his Brothers were more than a match for Vader, and any other powerful Force user they may face in the future. And success was more likely if they didn't just work as one, but _combined_.

He was afraid, but he was resigned. Slowly, he raised his arms, and looked hard at the black obsidian ring. He let his mind focus on Hux's request. Hux, the Supreme Leader. Hux, the greatest Force user in the galaxy. Hux, their Master.

Around him, his Brothers started to follow suit. One by one, their restraints snapped and fell from their wrists as their minds resolved towards the task in hand. The Stormtroopers stood silently.

Hux's eye widened as he realised the process had begun. Initially, he felt nothing, and could see nothing. But then, there was a buzzing in his ears, and quickly afterwards, he felt a burning sensation tear through his body. He looked wildly around him, and saw bolts of power surging from each of the Guards' hands towards him. Slashes of coral red, they sparked and roared before they flew into the ring on his finger. He cried out in pain.

"Continue!" yelled Phasma.

The Guards stepped closer, and bore down on the General, who had now fallen to his knees. Slowly, a ball of electricity seemed to surround him. Hux's face started to glow a dull red, and his jaw started to jut away from his face.

 _It's as if he's burning,_ thought Phasma, remembering Snoke's melted, gruesome face. Almost as soon as she said this, she saw him contort, and his skin indeed start to slacken and drop.

His body also changed. Whereas before, he had had mass, now it was as if his body was wasting before their very eyes. His fingers lengthened, and his cape now seemed to hang from skeletal, bony shoulders. He dropped his face to the floor. His breathing became a rasping hiss.

And suddenly, it was done.

Hux waved his hand, the all eight Guards lowered their hands simultaneously. Then he raised his face again to stare at Phasma. She caught her breath as she recoiled in horror. His eyes glowed a steady scarlet, sunk deep into the chalk bones of what was left of his face.

He gave her a thin, mocking, smile.

"Now," he rasped. "It's time to go to _war._ "


	14. Rey and Kylo

Rey awoke with a start. She had been dozing on the Falcon, her face dappled with drying tears. But all her worries were suddenly pushed from her mind.

She had just felt something _wake_. Something black, something dark. Something deep. What _was_ that?

Without thinking, she reached with her mind out into the galaxy. _Where are you?_ she asked, angrily. _And what have you done?_

Moments later, she felt him connect with her. The feeling was unmistakable. It was as if another person, another voice, had suddenly appeared in her mind.

She turned, expecting to see a vision of him, wherever he was. Doing whatever it was he had just _done._ But instead, he simply appeared before her, fully formed. Though - was it him?

A tall man stood in the Falcon, with a loose, black scarf tied around his head, face and neck. His body was draped in the same black fabric, and around his waist hung the unmistakable hilt of a lightsabre. He wore loose trousers, and no shoes. He turned, and gazed at her with a calm pair of golden eyes, rimmed with black. He pulled the scarf away from his face.

Kylo Ren.

Rey exploded with rage. "What have you done?" she cried. "What was that?" Then she looked at him again, standing in her ship. "And... what are you doing here? This...this isn't how it works."

"No." he replied, looking around him, taking in the Millennium Falcon. "My father's ship," he said, gently. And then he smiled. "Ha."

"Ha?" she jumped to her feet. "Answer me... _killer._ What was that thing I just felt? What did you do?"

He spun to face her again, in one smooth movement. He pushed back his scarf, to reveal his long, raven hair. It tumbled around a bronzed, suntanned face. _He glowed._

Rey looked at him, and her mouth fell open. _This is bad. He looks... powerful._

"For a start," he replied, his eyes calmly regarding her face, before moving instantaneously down her body, and then back, "It's not me. But that's not relevant right now."

She looked at him, incredulously.

He smiled. _Smiled!_

"What's relevant. Is that you reached for me. While you were awake. And that I answered. And... I am _here._ "

She took a moment to register what he had said. Then she looked at him again. He was, it appeared, actually in the Falcon. She wasn't seeing him in whatever black dungeon he was actually skulking in right now. Suddenly, it struck her.

"You've..."

"Projected," he replied, nodding. Then he smiled again. She knitted her eyebrows in consternation.

 _What is happening here?_

"And I'm...awake?" she murmured, still processing.

"Yes," he replied, moving closer towards her. He moved with an easy grace, and his arms hung loosely beside his body. He made no attempt to reach for either her, or his lightsabre. "Normally, you only reach for me in sleep."

Rey's neck started to burn with embarrassment and anger. "Don't be ridiculous."

 _Had she done that?_

 _"_ It's okay," he replied. "You're pleasant to look at, while sleeping. Very peaceful. Calming."

Rey just shook her head. She was speechless.

He moved one step closer, and lowered his head to better face hers. She knew that he was an astral projection, and wasn't really here, but she could actually _smell_ him. He smelt warm, and smoky, as if he had just stepped out from an open fire. He gazed at her again with she realised almost orange-golden eyes.

"What have you done?" she asked again, in a smaller voice. "You're much more... powerful. Something's changed."

He just carried on looking at her. She noticed something flicker in his eyes.

"You really are..." he murmured. But then he stopped himself. "No. It's too soon for me to do this."

"Do what?"

"This," he said, and gestured to her, and then himself. "I'm not ready."

"You're ... _not ready?_ "

"Look, I know," he continued, shrugging his large shoulders. "I felt it too. Something's happened. It _may_ be Hux. I don't know. But what you need to do right now is get back to your people."

"My people?" she asked.

"Your people," he echoed. "That ex-Stormtrooper? And that pilot..."

"General," she retorted.

"General," he repeated. "Ah. So he's my mother's heir. Well. Either way. It's time to fight."

He looked at her then, and for a moment she thought he might touch her. But almost as soon as she thought it, he waved his hand, and disappeared. The Falcon was once again empty, save for herself and the distant bleeps of BB-8.

Rey's jaw was hanging close to the floor. _What just happened? Was that Kylo? Or Ben? Or... someone else?_

Absent mindedly, she reached for her comm, and hailed Poe.

"Rey?" his voice immediately shot into the room, crackling with interference. "You okay?"

"Fine," she said, but her voice trembling. "I'm coming home. We need to prepare. It's...coming."


	15. Supreme Leader

Hux smoothed his long fingers over his black robe, and looked out at the stars. He was finally, _finally_ , king of all he surveyed. A perfect mix of soldier, and... well, _necromancer_. At least, in his mind.

The Force had always been a mystery to him, as a simple soldier, without any previous Force sensitivities. But now, as he stood in the Throne room, feeling the Force vibrating through him, he realised for the first time what this thing really was.

It excited him.

He could feel _so_ much. He Guards, alive, but essentially enslaved to his every whim, were now mere extensions of his own self. But he could still feel their shadows, and an echo of their feelings, as they stood motionless around him, ever guarding their Supreme Leader.

Yet, yet.

He felt... _doubt._

Further away, outside of this room, he could feel Phasma. She was struggling, he knew, with the choices he had made. He felt her mind churn, her every anxiety, as well as the low level rage that still burned within her at her ...condition. _That Stormtrooper,_ thought Hux.

Further still, he could hear echos. Echoes of other minds, whom he recognised as Force users like himself. Real users, of course, not ..thieves. They were too far away for him to target or identify, but he knew the girl was amongst them. And, no doubt, Kylo Ren.

Ren. Almost as soon as he thought of him, it seemed as if Kylo Ren's own face suddenly appeared before him. _A vision_ , thought Hux. But it couldn't be. This was the face of a handsome young man, bronzed and shining like a golden coin. Hux closed his scarlet eyes for a moment, and then reopened them. The face was gone. But as he slowly turned away from the Destroyer's window, and looked towards his Throne, he saw the face again. Slowly, the face morphed into a head, a body.

A smile.

"What... is... this," said Hux, aloud. His Guards instantaneously reacted. As one, they all moved into their individual fighting stances, their heads turned towards Kylo's image. Slowly, they spun their various sabres and staff.

 _Does this mean he's there, or they simply see the same mirage?_ thought Hux.

Presently, Kylo answered his question.

"Hux. I'm not sure that command suits you. You seem to have...aged," said the younger man. He was wearing a long, black robe, but was bare footed. His hair was longer than Hux remembered. He wore a silver pendant around his neck, but a familiar lightsabre hilt hung from his belt.

Hux instantly flicked his hand towards the younger man, sending a stream of electrical bolts towards his body. They crackled and sparked ruby, ochre, and crimson. But one by one, the bolts passed harmlessly through Kylo Ren, instead singeing the edge of his golden chair.

Hux's brow creased in consternation. "You're not really here."

"No," replied Ren. "It's a new trick. And a good one, it seems. I hoped we might talk."

"What is it, Solo, that you think we have to talk about?" hissed Hux. "Unless you've come to.. _bend the knee._ "

Kylo gave a rueful smile. "I could no longer serve you, than you could me," he replied. "No. I simply wanted to...talk."

"Do you come seeking an alliance?" smiled Hux. "You must think me a fool." His thin mouth pressed into a cruel, wintry smile.

"No alliance." said Ren. "Rather, a _duel._ "

Hux let out a rasping, wheezing laugh. "What fool trick is this? Are we gentleman knights of an ancient realm? Bodies of metal, and minds raddled with fool superstition?"

Kylo just looked at him, saying nothing. He simply kept his golden eyes on Hux's, his brow determined, his lips pressed together in determination.

After a while, Hux spoke. "You speak in seriousness." Slowly, the smile slipped from his face. "And why should I fight you, traitor?"

"Because for as long as I live, I am your nightmare," spat Kylo Ren. His eyes glinted like flints. "How can a Force _thief_ really rule over the First Order? How can he really sustain his men's ..loyalty? Especially when they are _mine_."

Kylo's eyes flashed with anger as he gestured towards the Praetorian Guards. Two or three of them stirred, imperceptibly.

Hux felt both the heat of anger, and a cold finger of fear, touch his breast.

"Be reassured. You will die, and soon," said Hux. "When I am ready, I will find you. And _kill_ you. But not before I have found that girl of yours. The one that's made you so very, very... weak."

"Do I _look_ weak?" smiled the younger man. Hux looked carefully at Kylo, and noticed for the first time how his eyes shone with light.

"What you are is inconsequential," he replied, keeping his voice steady. "And what you have, is nothing compared to what I have." His raised an arm, throwing his black robe behind his flank as his long, spidery fingers indicated his Guards, his ship, his soldiers. "So it's just a matter of time."

"I _welcome_ time. As its time for them to doubt. To _wonder_." replied Kylo. He didn't need to finish the sentence. _To wonder whether Hux could ever be their true Supreme Leader_. Kylo Ren was the Son of Solo, of Skywalker, and a grandson to Vader. He was a Prince. Not a _pretender._

" _Fight me,_ " said Kylo Ren, with sudden ferocity. "You and I, and with what's left of our people. I have four, true Knights. You have...these." His lip curled with disgust as he cast his eyes across his former Brothers. "A fair fight. A fast one. To decide once and for all. Who is...righteous."

Hux raised his brows and considered the plan. He could feel, from the shimmer of emotion that was now emanating from his Guards, that Ren was speaking a truth. A thief he was. A immensely powerful thief, but his name was not, and never would be, garnished with the history and reverence of the Skywalker's name. As long as this fool lived, he was a thorn in Hux's side.

And, whether he liked it or not, a people liked to see a Prince killed well, not murdered in a darkened speakeasy.

"Then I accept," said Hux. "I wouldn't wish to refuse such a welcome request for death." His Guards shifted on their feet. He felt a lightening, a shift towards approval.

Kyle Ren smiled a grim, resolute smile. "Then I will see you at Naboo. Three days hence, on the evening of the High Moon. Bring these puppets," he snarled at his former Knights. "I shall welcome their end, almost as much as yours."

And with a last flash of his golden eyes, he was gone.


	16. Poe's Plan

Rey sighed with relief as she brought the Falcon into the Resistance's newest Star Cruiser, the Gloriana. It wasn't quite the size of the Raddus, but it had been gratefully received from one of their growing coterie of state supporters. As she brought the battered old freighter into land, bumping as she went, she looked out into the loading bay. Her eyes fell onto both Poe and Finn, who had come out to meet her./p

It's good to have you back," said Finn, as she stepped quickly down the Falcon's ramp. He gripped her shoulders, and looked into her eyes. "For a moment there…

 _I thought you'd left us_. He didn't need to say.

"Never. I just needed some time," she replied, pulling him into an easy embrace. Then, gently pushing him back, she continued, "But that's all unimportant now. Something is happening. There's a disturbance in the Force. And we need to figure out _what._ "

"She started to walk, striding out towards the Cruiser's lift area. But as quickly as she started, Poe stepped out in front of her, blocking her path. "Step ahead of you, lady," he said. "It's not just the Force which is disturbed. And for once I'm not talking about my crazy astromech. Look what we found." Poe reached an arm out over her shoulder.

Rey's brow creased for a moment, but she dutifully spun around. There, parked so clearly she wondered how she could have missed it, stood a gleaming silver TIE.

"Where did you get that?" she asked. "And where's the…."

"Pilot's in the brig," Poe interrupted. "We found him floating, when we headed past the Coruscant system this last week. He must've got separated from his unit during one of our dogfights. Or….he's a deserter. Anyway, we've got him to talk - a bit - and its clear something big, I mean big, is going down in the First Order. Something that's got the soldiers rattled, as much as you sabre wielders."

"So," interjected Finn. "We have a ship… and a uniform…." He looked at her, expectantly.

Rey's eyes turned to Finn's, her mind grasping his point as quickly as his mouth uttered the words. "You want me to break into the First Order ranks, and find out."

"Yes," replied Poe. "Do some mind control stuff, you know, get through their ranks. Unless," and there was a slight edge to his voice as he spoke, " You think you can find out some other way."

"He wants to ask me, but equally…. he doesn't." though Rey. "He still thinks Ben is my weakness."

She regarded him for a moment, and then spoke, in almost a whisper. "I don't need to reach for him. He already came for me."

"Both men flicked a look at each other, before turning back to Rey and tumbling out words.

"Are you okay?" asked Finn.

"What did he want?" asked Poe, slightly stiffly.

"She lowered her lead for a moment, realising she herself was uncertain about both of those questions. Just why had he reached out for her? And why…. why did she still feel such a wrench in her chest whenever she thought of him?

Was she feeling compassion? It made no sense. Her mind returned, briefly, the Throne room. _Please._

"We both felt something," she said, finally. "Something dark….but new. I immediately assumed it was Kylo, but then he… arrived. I think he was looking for the answer, too."

Poe creased his brow. "The Sith? Another Dark Lord?"

Finn pursed his lips for a moment. "Or, a usurper." And then, a moment of clarity. He remembered that wintry face, those arrogant, hungry eyes. "Hux." he said.

"Poe and Rey both turned to Finn, their faces registering both uncertainty, but the faintest glimmer of hope.

"You think Hux is taking Kylo down?" Poe said, almost bouncing at the thought. "I suppose it wouldn't be a huge surprise. It's not as if Ren's as powerful as Snoke. And Hux has a whole army…"

"I don't know about that. About his power," said Rey, talking over Poe as he started to theorise. Rey was remembering how he had appeared to her back in the Falcon on Jakku, as if in the flesh. His face had been glowing, and his eyes alight with fire, framed by those dark flowing locks. He had looked more powerful than she had ever seen him look. Radiant. And for once, she realised, she had sensed a calmness in him. He had, she realised, a purpose.

"But that makes no sense," said Finn, talking almost to himself. "Hux is military. not Force. Unless her has found a Dark Lord willing to take Kylo on."

"The three stood there, together, all lost in their own private reverie.

Suddenly, ever the leader, Poe snapped out of it. "Well, we're not going to find out standing here," he said, "We have to find out. A civil war could be just the in we are looking for to rip the Order apart.

 _It may be our only hope_ , his eyes suggested.

He turned and looked expectantly at the young woman standing before them.

Rey stood back for a moment, and closed her eyes. She reached out from herself, and felt herself land, gently, into the Force. Almost immediately she felt a tug, a drag towards a certain place, a certain spot she had heard so very much about over the years. A virtual paradise of rolling green plains, lush forests, sparkling waterfalls, and marble architecture Where a princess once fell in love with a soldier.

"Naboo," she said, finally. "The Order are heading there. It's whatever is going to happen, will happen."

"Then best we get you in the armour and the TIE within the next hour," said Poe, nodding his head towards the silver TIE. "You're going to have a ringside seat."


	17. Naboo

Kylo Ren looked down at the grass plains below him. Around him stood his four remaining Knights, dressed similarly in light robes, suited to the heat of the place from which they came. Ren was as ever, in black, a scarf tied around his face and chin, leaving only his eyes visible. They moved constantly, searching the valley below, and set upon the troop freighter that glinted in the sunlight in the centre of one of the largest plains.

"He came." he said. "As I knew he would. Bring us down."

"He's not alone," said his closest Brother, called Iago, pointing to the non-insignificant unit of Stormtroopers that were already filing out of the freighter, and lining up in a perfect formation alongside the giant ship. Furthermore, they noticed a unit of TIE fighters, also coming into land. Eight were in formation, though a ninth seemed to be straggling, before bringing itself smoothly alongside before landing.

"What's to stop them just…blowing us out of the sky?" continued Iago, not unwisely. Kylo felt the remaining three all move, imperceptibly as the ship banked hard and powered down towards the group.

 _They think me reckless_ , he thought.

He turned to the man, and pulled his scarf down, revealing his lips. "Pride," he said, quietly. "Hux wants to kill me, publicly. He need to bring me to my knees. To leave no-one in doubt who is the true Supreme Leader."

With that, he swung himself around, and readied to disembark.

As his ship touched down, he felt a familiar presence close by. She was here. Where exactly, he wasn't sure, but she had come for at the reckoning. He just hoped that it would go the way it needed to go.

Losing was not an option, he recognised. Not just for himself, but for his four remaining Knights. As best, they would all be killed. At worst, Hux would harness them as he had the Brothers he had already lost, tied like dogs to Huxs' leash, sucked of their purpose and passion. An undead death, it sickened him.

But losing was so much more not an option for himself. Everything he had worked for the last six months had been for this moment. He had to deliver. He had to win.

As his boots pressed into the soft earth, he looked up and saw Hux similarly disembarking from his own ship. Dressed in black robes, his face almost covered, he could feel the powered radiating from his former General. Ren recognised, not for the first time, a shiver of fear within his own chest. He wasn't sure if he was ready.

* * *

Over at the opposite end of the plain, Hux and Phasma walked down their own ramp, closely flanked by the Praetorian Guard. Hux strode out towards Kylo Ren, his face fixed in determination.

Phasma struggled to keep up with him, her own limbs raw and aching within her silver suit, a memory once again of her last encounter with FN-2187.

"Master," she said, as she drew alongside the Dark Lord. "General. I have to ask. Is this wise?"

Hux didn't stop for a moment, his legs striding out towards his prey. As usual, his face was hidden from view. Phasma had noticed that, despite his obvious exultation as his now position and powers, Hux was perhaps less enamoured with the effects the Gifting had had on his body and face.

He had aged half a century, the skin on his face melting from his bones. He was ruined.

"Phasma," he said, after a time, his voice steady. "I must consolidate my foundations. Ren is threat to my stability. As long as he lives, there is doubt. The threat may only be an idea, but that's all that is required."

"So you don't believe he can win, this….this…" She waved her hand. She wasn't quote sure what this fight that was about to occur between them really was. It felt, to her, some echo of Snoke. He used to play them both like puppets, she thought. Divide and conquer. It was as it he still lived.

 _He would be laughing now_ , she thought.

"Of course not." Hux almost guffawed, a rasping, grating sound emitting from behind his hood. "Ren was always an emotional, self obsessed, child. He can no more control his power than a bantha can pilot a TIE. He can't change. He won't change. This is suicide, and he knows it. I believe he wants to end it. So end it I shall."

Phasma noticed the two opposite teams were drawing close now, their progress mirrored by the flank of Stormtroopers and pilots, who followed them as a shadow, a walking audience, waiting for the fireworks to begin.

She could see Kylo Ren, slowing to a stop, surrounded by four men. All were draped in long robes and scarves in varying shades of greys, their faces covered. Ren himself was wearing his signature black, but he did not wear his First Order uniform. He garb was flowing, softer. His eyes were determined, and steely.

 _He doesn't look suicidal_ , Phasma thought to herself. She looked again at Hux. She felt a surge of shame as she recognised, not for the first time, a disloyalty growing within her for this powerful, yet petty, creature. _I wonder how this will end_ , she thought. _And is it all worth it?_

Hux drew within 100 yards of the Knights of Ren, and then stopped. The Praetorian Guard slowed at exactly the same pace, and immediately fell into their fighting stances, like breathing automatons. Phasma glanced at the red, glowing eyes of her master, and drew away. This was not her fight. All she could do now was await the outcome.


	18. The Battle Part 1

Kylo Ren was not a man for many words, if words didn't need to be spoken. He had learnt to let his eyes communicate his every feeling, or his actions. So without further ado, he stamped his right foot into the soft earth, and drew his light sabre. It roared into life, followed momentarily by the buzz of his fellow Knight's own weapons.

Instantaneously, Hux's own Guard stepped forward. The two teams met each other, with a a fiery clash.

Hux himself stood to one side, allowing his Guards to tackle Kylo and his four brethren. But Kylo didn't take his eyes of the Supreme Leader for a moment. As he wielded and spun, his sword slashed through Guard armour, wounding one within moments. One of his fellow Knights followed up, splicing the Guard in two.

Hux shuddered, Kylo noticed. Killing each Guard was, he presumed, like slicing a string on an instrument. With each death, he could quieten Hux's song.

But as if in answer, Hux drew himself up and threw a dark red bolt of lightening at Ren. The both struck him squarely on the chest, and threw Kylo to the ground. Shocked, Kylo felt the heat burn at his robes and skin, and reach into his very bones and nerves. He gasped in pain. This was Snoke levels of power.

In answer, one of his Knights quickly moved upon another Guard, slicing his head from his body. But before he could draw heart, a Guard stepped in in response, and sliced his fellow Knight to the ground.

There were three men left to Hux's eight.

Kylo Ren dragged himself to his feet and bared his teeth. He felt a familiar surge of rage draw up into his chest, and for once, allowed it to fully consume him. He closed his eyes, and reached for the Force. As if in answer, it met his rage, and he felt his arms take wing as he stepped forward to slice again at the Guards standing around this decrepit, slouching Hux.

One, two. Limbs rolled, and another Guard lay dead. To his left, another of his Knights took another. Hux was left with six.

Hux's eyes widened in alarm. Another Knight stood forward, and in a whirl cut down yet another Guard. Five remaining.

* * *

Over in the Stormtroopers ranks, Rey's eye widened under her helmet. Her view of the action was limited, but she could see plainly what was happening.

Kylo Ren and Hux were fighting. Savagely. But for what?

She had felt his presence as soon as she had brought her TIE into formation with the rest of her unit. She had easily convinced them all she had always been there, and had suffered no discovery since they all jumped out of their ships and joined the artillery unit that stood, motionless, on the plain.

Beside her, stood BB-8, hastily painted black to resemble the First Order astromech model. He was surrepticiously filming the proceedings, and relaying them back to the Falcon, which was now hidden a few kilometres away in one of the Naboo forests. She could hear Poe speaking, none to quietly, in her ear.

"It's what we thought! They're at war!" he was shouting. This is incredible. With luck they'll both kill their respective Guards - and then each other."

Rey felt a cold finger of fear in her breast at his words. She realised, that despite all he had done, despite all he had said - she had no desire for him to die. She has always known this, unconsciously.

She could have killed him back on Starkiller Base. She could have killed him on the Supremacy. She never had.

The Force intends for him to live, she thought. The Force needs him to live.

Why?

* * *

Over in the battle, Ren drew himself back for a moment, and looked across at Hux. His Guards had pulled back slightly, reassessing the situation. They stood, five strong, and turned momentarily to their Supreme Leader.

Almost immediately, Hux drew himself back as if pulling more power from his red clothed puppets. He then threw two more lightening bolts from his hands.

Kylo realised, too late, that the bolts were not meant for him. He watched in horror as they both slammed into one of his remaining Knights. The man screamed in pain, before bursting into flame. He died on his feet. Kylo's eyes widened.

Hux started to laugh, the sound like metal grating against metal.

"You fight well, Skywalker," he spat. "But the odds are stacked against you. You're no match for me. Why did you come here? You must have known you would lose."

With that, he threw another bolt. Kylo leapt, catching it with his lightsabre before it hit Iago, who stood alongside him. His sabre groaned and sparked with the effort. Momentarily, it dimmed.

"To stop you," hissed Ren, shaking his sabre, once, then twice. It roared into life again. "And your pointless, perpetual, never ending war!"

Hux pulled back his hood, revealing his scarred, wintry face. His eyes glowed scarlet in their sockets.

"You killed your father for the New Order. For war! If you don't want to harness our great...machine... then for what?"

As he spoke, he gestured wordlessly to his Guards again. The five once again stepped forward, and started to engage the three remaining men - Kylo, and his final two Knights.

Kylo raised his lightsabre, and brought it down, hard, onto a Guard. "Not for this!" he shouted. The Guard was cleanly sliced in two. He stood forward and yelled, again, with venom. "And not for you!"

Hux's brow creased for a moment. He lowered his hands, and peered, as if seeing Kylo Ren for the first time. His smile slid, gently, from his face.

"Then...why?" He asked. "Why are you here, if not to claim it from me?"

He looked again at Ren, noticing for the first time, the golden glow of his skin, the soft black robes that hung from his shoulders.

"You've changed." he said. Kylo looked at him, and a whisper of a smile formed on his lips.

Hux felt unsteady for a moment, uncertain. "What are you?" he asked."Tell me! Who are you?"

Kylo Ren stood forwards, for the last time.

"I am the Amghar of Jakku," he said.

His eyes turned towards Rey, and stared straight into her visor, into her soul.

"I am the Sand King."


	19. The Battle Part 2

" _What_ did he say?" Poe's voice echoed in Rey's ear. But all she could hear was Ben's words. And all she could see, was Ben's face. He was looking at her, looking through her, searching for something. Asking something.

Her mind turned back to the monument she had seen when she returned to Jakku. The tall, sandstone pinnacle.

"For the people we lost, or gave away," she murmured to herself, remembering its inscription. Her eyes started to fill with tears.

 _He built it_ , she thought. _He built it for me. For my parents. For… Han._

"Wha…" she heard Poe start to say, but it was too late. She ripped the helmet from her head, and ran forwards towards him.

"Ben!" she yelled, and she broke into a sprint, pulling her sabre out of her armour as she ran. Behind her, the Stormtroopers bristled, uncertainly.

Hux raised a hand as she saw her burst from the sidelines. His mind was racing as he tried to catch up with what was unravelling before him. Slowly, it dawned on him. He kept his hand up, holding his troops back.

"This isn't about your claim to my throne," he said, menacingly. "This is about your redemption. This is about forgiveness!"

But Ben wasn't listening. He was watching her run toward him, his face a mixture of trepidation and longing. Hux felt a wave of revulsion pass through him.

"You reveal you cards too early, Skywalker. Too early!" he cried.

Suddenly he pushed his arms forward, and two giant lightning bolts leapt from his thin fingers. One glanced Rey, throwing her to the ground. But the other struck Ben squarely in the chest, lifting him up into the air…. and slamming him against his own Brother Knight, Iago.

Iago's lightsaber, still unsheathed, punched through his King's chest, just above the heart. Ben gasped, as the sabre ripped through his chest, and appeared before his eyes.

Rey screamed, and pulled herself back on her feet.

Iago pulled his sabre out, and grabbed Ben as he fell to the ground. But the larger man was too heavy, and Iago cried in frustration as Ben slipped from his grasp, and crashed into the soft earth.

Rey flew towards him, throwing herself to her knees as she reached to touch him. But Ben's eyes told her what she already knew. She was too late. With the last flicker of life in his eyes, he reached a hand towards her and spoke.

She already knew what he was going to say.

"I love you." he said, simply.

"I know." she replied.

"No." he replied. "You don't."

Suddenly she felt a grip on her wrist. She looked down and saw Ben's fingers pressing into her skin, his eyes glowing scarlet. For a moment she was afraid, but then she felt it. His power. He was passing it to her, somehow. She gasped.

His eyes glowed red, then flickered, dimmed. "Now," he whispered, finally. "Kill him."

And Ben Solo closed his eyes for the last time.

Everything stopped for a moment. There was silence.

Rey looked down at his body, and felt a great wave of emotion roar through her, stronger than she had felt. It was greater than pain, greater than rage, greater that loss. It was beyond her comprehension.

She spun around.

Hux too before her, flanked by his remaining four Guards. A thin smile cut across his face.

Rey was aware of so many sensations. She felt the breeze graze her cheek. She could hear Iago's heart, beating hard, behind her as he leant over his Master's body. Beyond, she could smell the Falcon's engines roaring into life, as Poe and Finn readied themselves to join the fray. But the only thing she could see was Hux. And that thin, slice of a grin.

She bared her teeth and roared. Instantly, the grin slid from his face, and then slowly his eyes rose up. She realised, after a moment, his eyes were following her. She looked down at her feet as they pulled away from the grass. She was floating. Her hands were glowing, now red, now blue. Now purple.

She made no decisions. It was as if she was totally at one with the Force within her. Her hands moved and two bolts flew from her fingers. Two Guards burst into flames. Again, she threw another, and another, smashing red armour into smithereens. Hux then stood before her, alone.

His eyes were wide with terror. He opened his mouth to beg.

She tried to speak, but it was as if she was no longer human. She could only act. She brought both hands together, and cried out with a terrible rage. Hux sobbed for the last time, as he melted away in front of her, into his robes, into the grass.

After that, she looked around. She saw Stormtroopers fleeing, scattering before her. She was the Falcon landing, and two men running out. In the distance, she heard a voice. _Save him._

Then, she saw a face. _Leia._ The older woman looked at her. Through her.

Rey turned around and looked down at Ben's body. Iago was kneeling before him, punching his chest in an effort he already knew was futile. Tears streamed down his face, as he repeated, no, no, no...

Finn and Poe now joined the scene, looking first at Ben, and then up at her. They both stared, open mouthed. They were afraid.

She said nothing. She lowered herself down, and stepped lightly onto the grass. Then she walked, slowly, back towards Ben's broken body. Then she knelt before him, and looked at his pale, peaceful face.

He was beautiful. But she had always thought so, from the very first time he had removed his helmet before her.

She knelt and kissed him goodbye.

Everything went black.


	20. Iago's Story

When she woke up, she was back on the Falcon. Finn and Poe stood over her, their eyes wide. Finn looked close to tears, whereas Poe looked drawn, and anxious. They started to speak, all at once.

Rey held up her palm. "Please…" she said "Tell me. Is he dead?"

"Yes," Poe replied.

"You literally…. melted him." said Finn. "He's definitely dead."

"No," she said. "Ben…"

Poe looked at Finn for a moment, as if he was uncertain of the right answer.

"We don't know," he replied. "His soldiers hauled him up and got him back on his ship. Then they left, in a hurry."

"He didn't look good, Rey," said Finn, softly.

Rey pressed her lips together. She reached out into the ether, and searched for him. There, in the distance. There was a light.

"No," she said. "He's still alive." She pulled herself up in her bunk, and looked around. Then, she burst into tears.

"How?" asked Poe, almost to himself.

Finn sat down alongside her, and drew her into his arms. She held him tightly. Finn, her friend, her rock. Finn shrugged. He was done trying to explain anything anymore when it came to the Force.

"Things got pretty strange back there," he murmured. He started to stroke Rey's hair. "I mean, she flew. Rey. Flew. She took up into the sky and floated. And she glowed. Purple. It was… terrible. And I never want to see it again."

"It was… Ben," she choked, her tears still flowing. "He passed his powers to me, momentarily. I never even knew that was possible. But then, I suppose… that's what had happened to Hux. He stole the Knight's abilities."

"Is Ben still… there?" asked Poe, prodding her, gently. "Are you still…. light/dark? Or Dark/light? Grey?"

"No," she said. "I must've passed them back somehow."

Poe turned away for a moment, and looked out of the window. Then he spoke again. "You kissed him." His voice was stiff, but his tone was resigned. "Maybe, you saved his life."

Finn pushed her gently back, and put her face in his hands. "So do you want to go there?"

"Where?" she said. Finn smiled. "Where everyone wants to go, dummy. That dusty hellhole. Jakku."

* * *

"Okay," said Finn, as the Falcon dipped out of orbit and banked down towards the planet's former scavenger centre. "Maybe no so much of a hellhole anymore."

Before them, they saw towns springing up, and in the distance, a larger one. There were signed of life, even water, greenery. On Jakku.

Rey could hardly believe her eyes. How has she missed this last time she had come?

The Falcon dipped again, and landed just outside the main town. She stood up to leave, expecting Finn and Poe to do the same. But they stayed seated, and looked at the ground.

"This isn't our stop," said Finn.

"We're heading back to the Cruiser," added Poe.

She looked at them, and nodded. They all knew that whether Ben was still Ben or.. something else… she would want to be here for a while. So much had happened since she had been an orphan growing up on this planet. She needed more time to process.

"Whether we like it or not," said Finn, quietly. "There's something between you, something we can't understand."

"Just make sure…" continued Poe, his voice small. "He doesn't hurt you."

"Did you see that purple thing she did?" asked Finn, and smiled.

Rey looked across at the two men, and felt her heart would burst.

* * *

She hadn't been on Jakku's new capital town, which seemed to be unnamed, more than an hour before she felt someone watching her. Sure enough, as she turned her head she saw a familiar face. Iago.

She was walking through the town's main medina, taking in the sights and smells of a very new, unfamiliar Jakku.

Around her, men and women toiled in small shops and factories, making things. Good things. Here was a man shaping the most extraordinary sculptures from old sheet metal. Here, a woman fashioned jewellery, decorated with gems and dyed sand. Here, another man was created bespoke hand weapons, and even lightsabres.

Iago fell in beside her, quietly. "We've been expecting you," he said. "Well. He's been expecting you."

"He's okay?" she asked, in a small voice, as she fiddled absent mindedly with a beautiful necklace.

"Weak, but recovered. We may be sand people, but we do have bacta tanks. And frankly genius physicians."

She smiled, and for the first time felt a ball of excitement form in the pit of her stomach. He was _alive_. And she was going to see him, properly, for the first time since… since…?

Had it been the Throne Room fight? She could still remember the graze of her hand on his thigh as they had fought back to back. But then, she remembered the darkness in hie eyes as she has said no. It seemed so long ago.

This time, she thought to herself. _I want to say yes._ _I just hope he asks the right question_. She put down the necklace.

Iago, she noticed, was looking at her. "Shall I tell you about this place?" he asked.

As he spoke, they rounded a corner and came to a large square. It was beautifully designed, surrounded by large town houses and guesthouses cut from sandstone blocks. Nothing was grand, but everything was simple, and beautiful. Water fountains sprayed gently in the centre, and brightly painted tiles covered the ground. Rugs and fabrics hang from walls and windows.

"I can't believe this place," she said, stopping. "Who….?"

"Scavengers," replied Iago, and his eyes smiled. "With a bit of leadership, and a bit of help."

She looked at him, expectantly.

"We arrived here after we left Ahch-To," he continued. "Kylo, as he was then, was in a pretty bad way. But, also, he was better. He wanted to come here, we had no idea why. It looked like a hellhole. But it seemed to give him something that he needed."

He was down, for a long time, well, we all were. But after a while, it seemed to inspire him. He started to talk to the people. He said they were the most resourceful, toughest people he had ever met. He admired them. We were horrified. He was a _Prince_!"

But then, he got them working. He threw out that fool and got the people making things, doing things. They still used what they could find, but he helped them be better. He built houses. He built a school. He bought things in and the people repaid him. Turned out these people could do a lot."

I admit," continued the Knight, "We doubted him at first. We've always been soldiers and leaving the Order.. and our Brothers… was a wrench. We went through so much too, after Skywalker. But…it started to make sense to us, too. It felt good to see something grow, other than the bows of a Destroyer or rows of an army. So now we make things that we sell across this system. We've got the start of a entertainment quarter. We race. We have soldiers too. But our own brand. Not Sith, Not Jedi. Just Force people. Sand people."

Rey thought about that for a moment. After a while, she asked, "And what of justice?"

"We're tribal," continued Iago. "There's a council of 12, and the Aghmar. The King. Each of the council are responsible for something. I have water. That's mine,": he pointed, proudly, to the fountain. "Plus the pipes in the ground."

We also act as judge and jury," he continued. "It's very neat. Decisions get made."

Rey looked troubled for a moment. She looked around, and noted the grit and determination on people's faces. Things, she realised, were not easy.

"It's not a Republic," he said, as if reading her mind. "We're not a democracy. He's a King. But… he's made lives better."

"But he takes lives too," she said, quietly.

"Yes." said Iago. "If we all decide that's right. If you wrong the town or the people… well. There's no jail. If you're weak… well. Its a hard town."

She looked around again, and saw again that grit, and determination. But she also saw hope, And pride.

Suddenly, Iago stopped in front of her. She looked up, and realised they had come to a large sandstone fortress, surrounded with palms. The light was slowly failing, and stars were beginning to glimmer in the sky.

"Look," said Iago. "He said to be honest. I'm not sure what you are to him. Its…something we can't understand. But it feels important that you stay, and speak to him. But if not, you can go."

Iago gestured towards a small ship that sat in the grounds of the fortress. She recognised it as Kylo's ship.

"Will you stay?" asked Iago.

Rey looked up at the fortress and saw a tall shadow standing in a balcony. She couldn't make out a face, but she didn't need to.

Her stomach leapt. "Take me to him," she said.


End file.
